A fantastic partner who made Buckwheat Flower Bloom into an opera

2023 Korea Mecenat Competition Arts & Business Award / Yeongdo Velvet·Gumi Opera Troupe

Youngdo Velvet, a leading velvet textile company

Leading the cultural industry in Gyeongbuk Province

Long-term support for Gumi Opera Troupe

Performance scene from the opera Buckwheat Flower Bloom, Gumi Opera Troupe

It has been ten years since the immortal Korean literature, Lee Hyo-seoks Buckwheat Flower Bloom, was reborn as a creative opera. It has been consistently performed on stage since its premiere in 2009, with the composition by Daegu veteran musician Woo Jong-eok and the script by music critic Tak Gye-seok.

The story of a single man, Heo Saeng-won, who has been a peddler his entire life, and Dong-i walking on a moonlit night with buckwheat flowers in full bloom to the next market was dramatized through arias on a moonlit stage. It starts with an overture, and consists of Act 1: A leisurely afternoon at a country market on a summer day, Act 2: Meeting, love, and parting, Act 3: Scene 1: A wedding scene in a dream, and Act 3: Scene 2: A conversation at a market.

It was recently performed at the Daegu Opera House on November 25, 2022, receiving applause from Daegu citizens. It was conducted by Lim Byeong-wook, the music director of the Scala Opera Company, and the lead roles were played by baritone Kim Seung-cheol and soprano Yoo So-young. In addition, top vocalists such as Kim Eun-guk, Kim Man-soo, Kim Min-ji, Lee Sang-gyu, Lee Chang-hoon, and Lim Gyeong-hoon performed together with the Centro Philharmonic & Daegu Womens Orchestra, and a total of 120 performers including choirs, dancers, and Samulnori groups presented high-quality performances.

Founded in 2000, Gumi Opera Troupe has been popularizing opera in the Gyeongbuk region and invigorating the development of local culture and arts.

In particular, it has made efforts to stage original operas with diverse themes, pioneering a new paradigm of Korean opera with works such as When Buckwheat Flowers Bloom and Sonata of the Flame, based on the novels of the same name by Lee Hyo-seok and Kim Dong-in, and Wangsan Heo-wi, which sheds new light on anti-Japanese activists from Gumi, Gyeongbuk. In addition, it has held a Love of Country Concert every year to commemorate the devotion and sacrifice of patriotic martyrs, and has also led to harmony among local artists.

The active creative activities of the Gumi Opera Troupe were possible thanks to the support of Youngdo Velvet. Youngdo​ Velvet, a 60-year-old craftsman company that first developed velvet fabric in Korea, a velvet wasteland, and is currently exporting it to 124 countries, has been affiliated with the Gumi Opera Troupe since 2011.

Youngdo​ Velvet explained, "We have been continuing exchanges in various ways, from watching employee performances to collaborating on social contribution activities to raise scholarship funds, holding in-house concerts, and even providing stage costumes made of velvet fabric produced by the company. The affiliation between Youngdo​ Velvet and Gumi Opera Troupe, which is contributing to the development of local culture and arts, will continue in the future."

Yeongdo Velvet is a leading domestic velvet fabric company, holding 14 velvet-related patents. It is famous overseas for its Three Eagles Velvet. 90% of its sales come from exports, and famous overseas brands such as Giorgio Armani and Burberry also make clothes using Yeongdo Velvet fabric.

Youngdo​ Velvet Gumi Factory has designed the interior of its company spaces, including its restaurant, lounge, and bathroom, with velvet to share the culture of velvet, and opened the velvet cultural complex Youngdo​ Daum Gallery and the industrial complex Be Road 1960. Be Road 1960 has also become popular as an industrial tour course in the Gumi region, and Youngdo​ Velvet has established itself as a company leading the culture and arts in the Gumi region.

Since its establishment in 2002, the Gumi Opera Troupe has been actively participating in the Daegu International Opera Festival, the Korea Opera Festival, and more. It has performed about 20 operas, including Cavalleria Rustica and La Bohème: The Elixir of Love, on stage, and has held more than 100 concerts. In particular, the National Love Concert has been held every June to commemorate the Patriots Month and the Patriots Day for over 10 years, and the Ulleungdo & Dokdo Love Concert has been held three times on Ulleungdo, consistently contributing to the local community and the country.

Park Young-guk, the director of the Gumi Opera Troupe, a living witness to opera in the Gyeongbuk region, said, "The greatest reward is the effort put into producing creative operas," and added, "Youngdo​ Velvet CEO Ryu Byung-sun serves as the sponsor and helps us every year, which is a great help. I am truly grateful that many members and local artists participate in the production, even though it is a small expense."

Youngdo​ Velvet and Gumi Opera Troupe also received the Business and Arts Encounter Award (Arts & Business) at the 2023 Korea Mecenat Awards, which is given to companies and organizations that have performed excellent cultural and artistic activities. The 2023 Korea Mecenat Awards, hosted by the Korea Mecenat Association and sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Arts & Culture Committee, has been held annually since 1999 with the aim of discovering and awarding companies and entrepreneurs who have contributed to the development of culture and arts and inducing the spread of the value of art throughout society. The awardees are ed based on a combination of factors such as their contribution to the promotion of culture and arts and the development of the country and society, as well as their sustainability and originality. 

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2023 Korea Mecenat Competition Grand Prize Winners Youngdo Velvet Ryu Byung-sun and Gumi Opera Troupe Director Park Yeong-guk​​. 

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"Group Photo of Korea Mecenat Grand Prize Winners"​

(Counterclockwise from the left in the front row) Gumi Opera Troupe Director Park Yeong-guk, Youngdo​ Velvet CEO Ryu Byung-sun, Hansung Motors CEO Wolf Ausprung, KT&G Vice President Lee Sang-hak, Staedtler Korea CEO Lee Gwan-ju, Gloria Opera Troupe Director Yang Su-hwa, Daedeok Hubiz CEO Park Ji-young, Netmarble Cultural Foundation CEO Kim Seong-cheol, Dong-A Pharmaceutical Managing Director Kim Yong-woon, Mary (Sa) Chairman Park Joo-young, Crown-Haitai Confectionery Chairman Yoon Yeong-dal, Korea National University of Arts President Kim Dae-jin, Korea Arts & Culture Committee Chairman Jeong Byeong-guk, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Arts Policy Officer Lee Eun-bok, Korea Mecenat Association Chairman Kim Hee-geun, Maekyung Media Group Chairman Jang Dae-hwan, Ilshin Textiles Chairman Kim Yeong-ho, Kim Jong-gyu, Chairman of the Cultural Heritage National Trust, Song Young-sook, Chairman of Hanmi Pharmaceutical, Lee Jang-han, Chairman of Chong Kun Dang

Reporter Kim Seul-gi​